Searchers using high-tech sonars have discovered the deep-water wreckage of a vessel believed to be the cargo ship El Faro, which went missing on October 1 with 33 crewmembers during Hurricane Joaquin, the US National Transportation Safety Board has said.
The wreckage is some 15,000 feet below the water's surface and its identity still must be confirmed by sending down a remotely operated deep ocean vehicle, the federal agency said yesterday.
The federal agency's statement added that experts aboard a specially equipped Navy vessel reported they located the wreckage at 1:36 PM EDT yesterday deep underwater in the area of the ship's last known position. The wreckage was detected on the fifth of 13 surveying passes by that ship, USNS Apache.
The 790-foot El Faro was reported missing east of the Bahamas, according to the Coast Guard.
The NTSB said investigators will now seek to survey the debris and confirm the identity of the wreckage, adding that effort could begin as early as today. It added that the wreckage spotted in the depths is "consistent with a 790-foot cargo ship, which from sonar images appears to be in an upright position and in one piece."
"To confirm the finding, specialists on Apache will use CURV 21, a deep ocean remotely operated vehicle to survey and confirm the identity of the wreckage. This survey could begin as early as November 1," said the statement emailed by Peter Knudson of the agency's public affairs office in Washington.
The El Faro's captain had called in before the vessel disappeared saying the ship had lost its engine power during its voyage from Jacksonville to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The captain, Michael Davidson, said the ship was listing, and taking on water.
The Coast Guard had searched for the ship for days after El Faro disappeared in the storm, finding debris and one body in a survival suit.
The El Faro was scheduled for retirement from Caribbean duty and for new retrofitting for service between the West Coast and Alaska, company officials have said. Both the El Faro and its sister ship were slated to be replaced by two new ships. Aboard when it disappeared were five engineers from Poland, who were working on the retrofitting as the ship sailed to Puerto Rico.
